Poll: Best Downtown in Texas? (Houston, Dallas: neighborhoods, design, title)

[Dallaz]

Originally Posted by JJG

*sigh*

Let me guess... you think DTFW is ONLY Sundance Square, right?

(Also... Manhattan, Chicago, L.A., Atlanta, San Francisco, Philly, D.C., Seattle, Miami... all either have bigger or equally as big downtown areas as Dallas, STILL more vibrant. Not much of an excuse.)

And a vast majority of those cities have high density CBDs with tons of people living in and around Downtown, also those cities have a lot of tourists contributing to the vibrancy. When you get out of the skyscraper core of Downtown Dallas the density is gone and the tourists are certainly not walking in a sea of parking lots with a few buildings scattered around. Sometimes I forget that the Farmers Market area to be apart of Downtown because it's not in walking distance from the buildings on Main St.

[JJG]

Originally Posted by Dallaz

No. I've been all over Downtown Fort Worth. What's unique about it?

The emphasis and embrace of the old west, which doesn't seem to be NEARLY as strong as it is in other cities.
The "small town-ish" charm.
The bricked paved Main Street leading up to the courthouse.
The low-rise art deco and beaux arts buildings complementing the few glass towers we have.
The Water Gardens, Avenue of Lights, and finest courthouse in the state of Texas.
The festivals and events centered in the open streets like the Main St. Arts Fest and even some boxing matches in Sundance Square.
This (beginning next year) leading into downtown from West 7th...

Now, why are you crying about this? Better yet, what's so unique about downtown Dallas other than the skyscrapers and the place where a president got his brains blown out in front of hundreds of people?

[Dallaz]

Originally Posted by JJG

The emphasis and embrace of the old west, which doesn't seem to be NEARLY as strong as it is in other cities.
The "small town-ish" charm.
The bricked paved Main Street leading up to the courthouse.
The low-rise art deco and beaux arts buildings complementing the few glass towers we have.
The Water Gardens, Avenue of Lights, and finest courthouse in the state of Texas.

Now, why are you crying about this? Better yet, what's so unique about downtown Dallas other than the skyscrapers and the place where a president got his brains blown out in front of hundreds of people?

From the top of my head....

The Arts District: Which pritzker prize winning architects designed some of the venues.
The Klyde Warren Park: If you haven't been, then you're missing out. The Park seems to defy the law of gravity by floating seamlessly over a 8 lane freeway. On a weekend there's thousands of people at the park. The Park is lined with great food trucks as well.
The Original Neiman-Marcus: Believe it or not people actually come to Downtown to see it.
The Perot Museum: This new science museum had over 500,000 people in the first 100 days of its opening.
The Mckinney Ave Trolley: You wouldn't believe how many people were on that trolley that weren't from Dallas. There were people from Houston, Chicago, Shreveport, Pittsburgh, and some other places that I can't remember. That trolley was extremely packed that day too. I had to stand up and hold the rail.
The Dallas World Aquarium: Do I need to explain?
The Old Red Museum: Which is about history of Dallas County, housed in the Old Red Courthouse (Old Dallas County Courthouse)
Reunion Tower: once this is competed http://thescoopblog.dallasnews.com/2...rly-fall.html/

[UTHORNS96]

As far as the whole Dallas vs Houston thing, I can't really speak on it, since I've never spent significant time in DT Houston.

But I do think the aquarium in DT Dallas is a nice little hidden gem. It's amazing how many of those animals they have packed into a small amount of square footage in the heart of downtown.


But honestly, Uptown Dallas is what really impressed me the most.

Either way, both of these cities are the ones that have to represent Texas on a global scale, and I want both of them to improve their downtown vibrancy immensely.

[dallasboi]

Downtown Dallas has come a long way. It is far better than people give it credit for. The good thing is that it's progressing at a brisk pace and pretty soon its transformation will be undeniable .

[RonnieinDallas]

Originally Posted by dallasboi

Downtown Dallas has come a long way. It is far better than people give it credit for. The good thing is that it's progressing at a brisk pace and pretty soon its transformation will be undeniable .

That's true! Dallas will have a modern 21st century downtown, while Foat Wuth and the rest of Texas gets left in the dust. I also think it's funny that so many of these other cities have Dallas based chains in their Downtowns, and call them "unique". Imitation is always the sincerest form of flattery! Thanks y'all

[dallasboi]

Originally Posted by RonnieinDallas

That's true! Dallas will have a modern 21st century downtown, while Foat Wuth and the rest of Texas gets left in the dust. I also think it's funny that so many of these other cities have Dallas based chains in their Downtowns, and call them "unique". Imitation is always the sincerest form of flattery! Thanks y'all

*cough*hotel zaza*cough*

[jayshoota]

Originally Posted by RonnieinDallas

That's true! Dallas will have a modern 21st century downtown, while Foat Wuth and the rest of Texas gets left in the dust. I also think it's funny that so many of these other cities have Dallas based chains in their Downtowns, and call them "unique". Imitation is always the sincerest form of flattery! Thanks y'all

Just curious, like what?

[dallasboi]

Originally Posted by jayshoota

Just curious, like what?

Originally Posted by dallasboi

*cough*hotel zaza*cough*

This hotel brand was created in and for Dallas.... houston just had to have one too(as usual).

[JKAddict]

Originally Posted by Dallaz

From the top of my head....

The Arts District: Which pritzker prize winning architects designed some of the venues.
The Klyde Warren Park: If you haven't been, then you're missing out. The Park seems to defy the law of gravity by floating seamlessly over a 8 lane freeway. On a weekend there's thousands of people at the park. The Park is lined with great food trucks as well.
The Original Neiman-Marcus: Believe it or not people actually come to Downtown to see it.
The Perot Museum: This new science museum had over 500,000 people in the first 100 days of its opening.
The Mckinney Ave Trolley: You wouldn't believe how many people were on that trolley that weren't from Dallas. There were people from Houston, Chicago, Shreveport, Pittsburgh, and some other places that I can't remember. That trolley was extremely packed that day too. I had to stand up and hold the rail.
The Dallas World Aquarium: Do I need to explain?
The Old Red Museum: Which is about history of Dallas County, housed in the Old Red Courthouse (Old Dallas County Courthouse)
Reunion Tower: once this is competed With high-tech sheen and a new bar, Reunion Tower’s observation deck will finally reopen in ‘early fall’ | The Scoop Blog

The sad thing about this list is that most of these things are right by, or near, Uptown. I would say that all of those things that are actually in the Downtown are, except for The Park, Reunion Tower , and Old Red, are not unique.

To say that Downtown Dallas is better than Fort Worth, in my opinion, is just simply not right. Unlike DT Dallas, DT Fort Worth actually has people walking around. DT Fort Worth has also improved more in the past years with Sundance Square. Yes , it is smaller, but does that really matter when DT dallas itself is mostly filled with parking lots?

Also, I feel that Fort Worth's urban core is very underrated. It has really improved over the last few years. Hopefully the Fort Worth's part of the Trinity River Project gets done.